Flexible pocket receptacle



Dec. 28, 1943.

D. J. BRQUGHTON FLEXIBLE POCKET RECEPTAGLE Fiied June '16, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR flowmsdflmwmy 7 ATTO NEYS Patented Dec. 28, 1943FLEXIBLE POCKET RECEPTACLE Douglas J. Broughton, Springfield, Mass,assignor to Buxton, Incorporated, Springfield, Mass., a corporation ofMassachusetts Application June 16, 1941, Serial No. 398,259

4 Claims.

This invention relates to flexible pocket receptacles such as billfolds,and the like, and more particularly to pocket receptacles of thatcharacter which are provided with means to display identification cardsand passes, or for carrying other papers which are infrequently used.

One object of the invention is to provide a billfold construction inwhich a special pocket is provided in which identification cards,passes, licenses, or papers may be carried without hampering or limitingthe normal use of the wallet or billfold for its principal purposes.

A further object is to increase the capacity of such wallets orbillfolds and improve the efficiency and facility with which they areused.

Other and further objects residing in the details of the constructionwill be made apparent in the following specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of a billfold embodying one form of myinvention, parts being broken away to show certain structural features;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational View, of the structure of Fig. 1, on a smallerscale, showing the special identification card pocket swung open;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational View of a billfold showing an alternativeembodiment of my invention, parts being broken away to show certainfeatures of the construction;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the structure of Fig. 4, on a smallerscale, showing the special identification card pocket swung open; and

Fig, 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing an alternativ form ofpocket.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, It indicates the outeror rear wall thereof. As is customary the end sections l2 of thebillfold are adapted in use to be folded one upon the other about thetransverse center line I3 of the billfold, In the form of the inventionshown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the front or inner wall is shown ascomprising two generally tubular end sections Hi within which the endsof bridging member it are slidably telescoped. It will be understoodthat in this form of the invention the front wall may, however, be ofany usual or desired construction.

According to my invention I hinge to one end of the billfold as at it apocket member ll which is substantially coextensive with, and isnormally folded in superposed relation on one end section.

I2 of the outer face of the rear wall it of the billfold. Suitable meansare provided for normally securing the member I! in its superposedposition on the rear face of the adjacent end section of the billfold.Preferably, and as shown, this securing means comprises a fiap 18extending from th end of member ll opposite hinge l6. Flap I8 is adaptedto be thrust into a pocket l9 formed on the rear face of rear wall ll)between the latter and a wall member 20. Wall member 2%] is preferablyprovided with a window 2| formed of any suitable transparent materialsuch as Celluloid. The inner wall member 22 of pocket member ii is alsopreferably provided with a transparent window 23, thus providing, withpocket It, space for two identification or pass cards which may bedisplayed by withdrawing flap I8 from pocket IS. The mouth of the pocketin member ii is most conveniently placed at the end adjacent flap i8 andthe latter serves to securely hold the pass cards in both pockets whenthe pocket member I! is folded in closed position on the back of thebillfold and flap i8 is inserted in pocket I9 at the rear of the card inthe latter pocket. The end of pockets I! and i9 adjacent hinge It may beclosed, by stitching or otherwise, to form two independent pockets, orthe pockets may be left open at both ends so that one forms acontinuation of the other when the pocket member H is in extendedposition, thus permitting long identification papers or the like to bedrawn through both with a half displayed through each of windows 2! and22. Large bills or checks may similarly be carried in the compartmentformed by the aligning pockets l1 and I9 and when used for this purposethe windows may of course be omitted-from the walls 20 and 22.

It will be seen that by my invention the passes or identification cardsare not displayed in the ordinary use of the billfold for currencypurposes, and that the exposed face of the front or inner wall H iscompletely available for the construction therein of any of the usualauxiliary pockets commonly desired and provided in billfolds.

The presence of the window 2| in wall 20 of pocket l9 tends to stiffenthe wall, making it rather difficult to withdraw the flap l8. In orderto facilitate intentional withdrawal of flap I8 I preferably provide thelatter with means by which the frictional engagement of the finger isincreased. The means shown for this purpose comprises an opening 24 cutin the fiap l8. Thus to withdraw flap [8 it is only necessary to insertthe end of a finger into pocket 19 until the ball of the finger engagesin opening 24 and withdraw the finger while exerting a slight pressureon the flap. In this way the flap is easily withdrawn while the securityof the closure due to the relatively tight engagement of the flap by thepocket walls is in no way decreased.

In Figs. 4, 5, and 6 I have shown an alternative form of my inventionwhich is in some ways more advantageous than that just described. InFigs. 4, 5, and 6 the rear wall of the billfold is indicated at 25 andthe front wall at 26. As in the previous form, the billfold comprisestwo sections 2'! foldable onto each other about the fold line 28. Theend sections of the front wall comprise generally tubular members 29within which the ends of a bridging. member (iii are slidablytelescoped.

A pocket member 3| is hinged as at 32 to one end of the billfold. Pocketmember 3| is substantially coextensive with the adjacent tubular endsection 29 of the front wall and is adapted to be folded thereon asshown in Figs. and 5. The outer wall member 33 of the tubular memberadjacent the hinged pocket member is shown constructed with atransparent window 34 providing between it and bridging p ece 30, apocket 35 for identification or pass cards. Inner wall member 3 ofpocket member 3| is also shown provided with a transparent window 3!adapting the pocket for the display of cards and passes. As in theprevious construction, however, the windows may be omitted when thepockets are tobe used for other than display material. The free end ofpocket member 3| is provided with a flap 33 adapted to be inserted inpocket 35 for normally securing the member 3| in its superposed positionon the front face of the billfold as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Flap 38 isprovided w th a finger opening 39 for the purposes previously describedin connection with opening 24 in the previously described structure.

The outer wall Mi of member 3| and the outer wall 4| of the tubularmember 29 which is remote from member 3| may both be provided with theusual auxiliary or accessory pockets such as indicated at d2 so thatwhen the member 3| is secured in its superposed position on the adjacentend section, the billfold, as is apparent from Figs. 4 and 5, has thenormal appearance of the usual billfold and can be handled and used inthe normal way without display of the passes or other material in thepockets 3| and 35. The fact that the billfold has provision for carryingsuch material is not apparent on casual inspect on so that myconstruction provides an advantageous hidden or concealed capacity whichmay be utilized for carrying other things than. passes andidentification cards.

One such modified arrangement of the hidden capac ty made available bymy construction is shown in Fig. '7 in which the inner wall 45 of member3| is made without a window and is secured to the outer wall 4% of themember only at the bottom edge 46 and the outer end 41 forming a pocket518 open at the top and at. the end adjacent hinge 3.2. The outer wall46 is provided on its upper edge with a flap extension 49 which isfolded over into overlapping engagement with the inner wall 55 to-coverthe top opening of the pocket 525. Similarly the adjacent tubular endsection 23 of the billfold is provided with a wall member 55) secured atthe bottom 5| and at the end c2 adjacent fold line 28 forming a pocket53, open at the top and the end adjacent hinge 32. A cover flap 54similar to flap 49 is secured to the upper edge of section 29. It willbe evident that the two opposed pockets 48 and '53 in combinationprovide an elongated compartment in which travelers checks, bills oflarge denomination, or identification papers and the like may be carriedin a concealed manner, yet easily accessible in case of need.

It will be understood that various pocket arrangements can be formed onthe inner face of members I! or 3| and the adjacent end section of thebillfold which is covered thereby and that the extended capacity of thebillfold made possible by my invention may be used for a large range ofpurposes without in any Way decreasing or interfering with the normaluse of the billfold.

What I claim is:

l. A flexible pocket receptacle comprising a pair of wall membersproviding a bill compartment between them and having a centrally locatedfold line forming end sections foldable one on the other about said foldline, one of said end sections having a pocket opening toward said foldline, a pocket member hinged to the end of said last-named end sectionand foldable thereon, secret pocket forming elements carried by theengaging faces of said pocket member and last-named end section, saidsecret pocket concealed when the pocket member is fold ed onto said lastnamed end section, a flap car ried by the free end of the pocket memberand engageable in said first-mentioned pocket to hold the pocket memberin its folded position, the outer face of said pocket member and theadjacent face or the other of said end sections having the form ofconventional billfold end sections whereby when the pocket member issecured in folded position, the bill compartment wall presents aconventional billfcld appearance and the presence of the secret pocketsis rendered (Jill-- noticeable in the normal use of the receptacle as abillfold.

2. A flexible pocket receptacle comprising inher and outer wall membersprovidin a bill compartment between them and having a centrally locatedfold line, said inner wall member comprising end sections connected by abridging member, one of said end sections being provided on its outerface with auxiliary pockets, a pocket member hinged to the end of theother section, and foldable thereover, said last-named section and theinner face of the pocket member being provided with secret pocketforming members concealed when the pocket member is folded onto thelast-named end section, a flap carried by the free end of said pocketmember and engageable between said bridging member and the lastnarnedend section to hold the pocket member in its folded position, andauxiliary pockets formed on the outer face of said pocket membercomplementary to the auxiliary pockets on the firstmentioned end sectionwhereby when the pocket member is secured in folded position the innerwall of the bill compartment presents a conventicnal billfcld appearanceand the presence of the secret pockets is rendered unnoticeable in thenormal use of the receptacle as a billfold.

3. A flexible pocket receptacle comprising inner and outer wall membersproviding a bill compertinent between them and having a centrallylocated fold line, said inner wall member comprising end sectionsconnected by a bridging member, one of said end sections being providedon its outer face with auxiliary pockets, the other of end sectionsbeing provided with a transparent wall forming with the bridging membera display card pocket, a pocket member hinged to the end of saidlast-named end section and foldable thereover, the inner face of saidpocket member being provided with a transparent wall forming a seconddisplay card pocket, both said display card pockets being concealed whensaid pocket member is folded onto the last-named end section, a flapcarried by the free end of said pocket member and engageable in thefirstnamed display card pocket to hold said pocket member in its foldedposition, and auxiliary pockets formed on the outer face of said pocketmember complementary to the auxiliary pockets on the first-mentioned endsection whereby when the pocket member is secured in folded position theinner wall of the bill compartment presents a conventional billfoldappearance and the presence of the display card capacity of thereceptacle is rendered unnoticeable in the normal use of the receptacleas a billfold.

4. A flexible pocket receptacle comprising rear and front wall membersproviding a bill compartment between them, said front wall includinggenerally tubular end sections, and a bridging member having its endstelescoped within said end sections, said end sections being foldableone on the other about a centrally located fold line, a pocket memberhinged to the outer end of one of said end sections and foldablethereon, the free end of said pocket member being provided with a flapengageable, when the pocket member is folded on said end section,between the bridging member and the adjacent Wall of the end section tosecure the pocket member/in position on said end section and render thepresence of the secret pocket member unnoticeable in the normal use ofthe receptacle as a billfold.

DOUGLAS J. BROUGHTON.

